A Reptile Rescue Centre in Abbotsford is dealing with an overcrowding problem at a level it has never experienced before.
‘Reptile Guy’ Mike Hopcraft is used to caring for a lot of abandoned turtles, but for the first time he has so many that he’s being forced to euthanize some of them.
He has the capacity for 75, but he now has 81 turtles with more arriving every day. Hopcraft says he will be forced to euthanize the turtles who were brought in to him injured after being released into the wild and then attacked.
Get daily National news
Turtles called red-eared sliders are the most common turtles sold at pet stores, but more people do not realize how long the turtles might live or how big they could get.
As a result, they are abandoned or dropped off at the centre’s door.
“I hoped the province would jump on board and ban the sale of red-eared sliders,” says Hopcraft. “They’re a huge problem out there. I wish people would do their research before getting animals. All the time we get them in because people didn’t realize how big they got, how dirty they get, how long they live. They can live over 50 years. I wish pet stores would do more in telling customers what they’re getting in to, instead of just trying to sell them for money, and it’s not all pet stores, there’s some really good pet stores out there, but there’s quite a few of them that just don’t care where the animals are going to.”
There are four municipalities in B.C. who have banned or restricted the sale of red-eared sliders: Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond and Burnaby.
To help Mike Hopcraft ‘Ralley for Reptiles’ visit his webpage.
Reblogged this on Imarashed.